England boy’ Tella eyes Eagles call-up
England boy’ Tella eyes Eagles call-up
Bayer Leverkusen forward Nathan Tella is also looking forward to an invitation from the Super Eagles after his teammate Victor Boniface made his debut for the national team last month, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The 24-year-old Tella was born in England but didn’t feature for the English at youth levels and he’s opened up on his dream to represent Nigeria at senior level.
“I’ve always said for the last three or four years that Nigeria is a big part of my life – even though I’ve been an ‘England boy’ from London all my life,” he said, as quoted by Bild.
“If I got the chance to play for Nigeria, I would be more than happy and accept it. I’ve already told my parents and friends that I would do that.”
His Leverkusen teammate Boniface was handed a second call up by coach Jose Peseiro for the friendlies against Saudi Arabia on Friday October 13 and Mozambique three days later, after his debut against Sao Tome last month.
Tella knows he has to earn his invitation as well.
“You’re not just nominated like that, you have to work for it and earn it. I want to prove myself here if I get the chance to play. I want to develop further, help the team and the club – if a call comes for an international call-up, that would be a bonus.”
Tella was born in England and started his football journey at the Arsenal Academy before switching to Southampton in 2020.
However, the winger rose to prominence after an impressive campaign with Burnley last season while on loan from Southampton. He registered 19 goals and five assists in 45 appearances for the Clarets.
Following his impressive campaign, Tella completed a €23.3m transfer to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer and has made three appearances for the club.
